Research Facilities
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCSD supports a number of Research Facilities that provide access to high-end instrumentation analysis. Members of the department, as well as other researchers, are encouraged to take advantage of these facilities to expand their research objectives. The facilities include mass spectrometry, biophysical instrumentation, cryoEM, x-ray, and NMR. Most of the facilities are staffed by Ph.D.-level professionals who provide training, and high-quality molecular analyses.
The Biophysics Instrumentation Facility, located on the 4th floor of the Natural Sciences Building, houses Biacores, an Analytical Ultracentrifuge, a Stopped-flow fluorimeter, an Aviv CD spectrometer and a Microcal VP isothermal titration calorimeter. The use of the instruments is limited to trained users. Each of these instruments has a faculty in charge. If you would like to become a user, you should first contact the faculty in charge of the particular instrument you wish to use in order to arrange for training. Once the faculty in charge has approved, you can obtain a login to access the online scheduling that is available for each instrument.
Macromolecular, cryo-electron microscopy and three-dimensional (3D), image-reconstruction techniques are used in our research to visualize viruses and to determine how they interact with their hosts, replicate and mature. Recent technological advances have led to an explosive growth in this field and have allowed researchers to observe molecules and molecular interactions at sub-nanometer resolutions. Microscopists are now more routinely able to trace protein chains, visualize protein-nucleic acid interactions, and to study how lipids play a major role in some enveloped viruses.
The molecular mass spectrometry facility (MMSF) in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has been established to serve the needs of the entire UCSD community. The MMSF is one of the Technical Support Facilities in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. Our goal is to provide high quality MS analysis with available technical and educational resources so that researchers can obtain data with a full understanding of their implications.
The MMSF provide routine MS analysis on various types of samples including synthetic organic molecules, synthetic peptides, natural products, organometallic compounds, intact proteins, and oligonucleotides. For peptide sequencing, protein identification, and protein post-translational modifications, please contact the personnel in the Biomolecular MS Facility.
The MMSF provide routine MS analysis on various types of samples including synthetic organic molecules, synthetic peptides, natural products, organometallic compounds, intact proteins, and oligonucleotides. For peptide sequencing, protein identification, and protein post-translational modifications, please contact the personnel in the Biomolecular MS Facility.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry NMR Facility. Our primary focus is to provide UCSD researchers and external users with access to NMR services and state of the art NMR equipment. The facility is subdivided into two centers: the Chemistry NMR facility, located in Pacific Hall, and the Biomolecular NMR facility, located in the basement of the Natural Science Building.
The Biomolecule Crystallography Facility provides instrumentation for crystal structure determination of proteins and nucleic acids. The Facility is equipped with a high brilliance rotating anode X-ray generator and two image plate detectors. Access is available for researchers from UCSD as well as industry and other outside users. Support is provided for crystal screening and data collection both at room temperature and cryo conditions.
The overall goals of the Biomolecular/Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Facility are to collaborate with university of California San Diego (UCSD) researchers and to collect the highest quality mass spectrometry data possible on biological samples. The facility is actively engaged in developing proteomic technologies and also provides access to more routine instrumentation for protein and peptide mass spec analyses.
The Small-Molecule Crystallography Facility provides consultation and services for academia, industry and governmental laboratories in the derivation and analysis of crystal structures. The UCSD Crystallography Facility is a cost effective resource, which can provide fast, accurate, and confidential results at a reasonable rate. The facility can complete data collection and analysis with a one-day turn around. The facility provides personnel who are highly experienced in crystallography methodology.